15 acres enough ?

[joop]

looking at property of 15 acres 7acres hardwood feasable to harvest for self heating?

 

[bholler]

looking at property of 15 acres 7acres hardwood feasable to harvest for self heating?

Probably it depends how much wood you use

 

[joop]

i figure max 3 face cords a season

 

[bholler]

i figure max 3 face cords a season

Absolutely even if your cutting to 24" 3 face cord is only 1.5 cord.. you can easily get that from 7 acres

 

[joop]

thx bholler good to know, saves money just more sweat lol

 

[brenndatomu]

At that rate, 7 acres will provide all you need, and enough to sell some too...

 

[johneh]

We have been taking 2 full cords of a 5-acre plot every year
for 35 years and except for the odd stump you would not know
we had been there. That 2 cord of sugar maple

 

[joop]

sounds like i'll be ok then thx guys

 

[Jags]

Back in yesteryear when they heated with wood only the claim was six acres of mature Timber would provide enough wood for the Winter's Heat without harming live and healthy trees

 

[peakbagger]

See if you can get your local cooperative extension to get a forester to look at the property. Unless the land has been managed by a pro, its most likely high graded and overstocked. The key thing is to identify the trees that need to be cut down so that the remaining trees can expand their canopy and become larger and healthier. In many cases depending on the stand type and age, up to 2/3rds of the existing trees need to come down to get to ideal stocking. Every lot grows certain trees the best so a pro can point you on how to gradually head in that direction. This means you have several years to a decade or extra harvesting to get that ideal stand.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Peakbagger is right. It depends on how/if it has been managed. A good timber stand will provide at least a cord/acre/year. Location/climate/soil/water/management/tree types will all be factors.

 

[joop]

looks pretty dense natural growth woods no pickin or thinin

 

[peakbagger]

Dense natural woods means lots of picking and thinning. Ultimately you want fewer large trees with big crowns instead of lots of smaller trees fighting it out for sunlight. The problem is if you thin it too quick the best trees that you want to keep cant expand their crown fast enough and that puts sunlight on the ground which can encourage undergrowth and invasives to move in. By doing it slowly over a few years you can let the crowns fill out. Depending on the tree types you may end up with trees spaced 40 feet apart with a mostly closed canopy.

 

[joop]

were it's at is mostly sugarmaples

 

[peakbagger]

Maples love to grow big crowns. Its likely your spacing will end up on the high end. Sounds like it time for a sugarbush.

 

[joop]

ya kinda pumped .i can od on syrup on snow

 

[armanidog]

ya kinda pumped .i can od on syrup on snow

That's a sweet life, eating pancakes with maple syrup you harvested while the stove radiates heat.

 

[ohlongarmisle]

looking at property of 15 acres 7acres hardwood feasable to harvest for self heating?

Ten acres has provided me with all the wood I can use in a lifetime, since 2004 anyway, never ever cut a live tree, still producing, cut enough this week felled ash and cherry for the entire shoulder seasons next 3 years at least.

 

[mightytitan9]

looking at property of 15 acres 7acres hardwood feasable to harvest for self heating?

I have 20 acres, about 10 acres in woods. I use between 2 and 3 cords a year and I haven't even began to touch any of the "good wood".

I've been trying to thin out the trees I don't want reproducing and hoping to give the good trees more space and resources to spread.

I think you'll have plenty